A daddy’s first meet with his deaf daughter – from A Rancher’s Pride by Barbara White Daille
When I was very little and on a shopping trip with my mom, I saw a couple of people standing outside a store. They were waving their hands in front of each other and laughing and smiling, as if they were having a conversation without saying a word. A few years down the road, I learned that’s exactly what they had being doing: talking to each other through sign language.
Languages have always fascinated me, with their nuances and inflections, similarities and differences, and beauty and emotion. After taking Spanish classes in high school and majoring in English in college, I studied American Sign Language. It didn’t take long to learn a visual language is just as nuanced, beautiful, and emotion-packed as a spoken one.
Some of the books in my Flagman’s Folly series include a little girl and her aunt, both deaf. Along with the romance in the first book, A Rancher’s Pride, a relationship begins between that little girl, Becky, and her daddy, the hero, who only learn of each other’s existence at the start of the story.
Hope you enjoy reading about the moment Sam first sees his daughter.
From the book cover:
His Whole World Is In Her Hands
Sam Robertson’s life just changed. In one short day, he found out that he’s a daddy; that his beautiful little girl, Becky, is deaf; and that her aunt, sign language teacher Kayla Ward, intends to fight him for custody.
There are plenty of reasons Sam shouldn’t fall for Kayla. A city girl like her has no place on his ranch, particularly when she’s his ex-wife’s gorgeous sister. But thanks to the judge’s orders, Sam’s spending a lot of time with Kayla, trying to give Becky the stable home she’s never known.
Despite their ongoing custody battle, Sam and Kayla’s love for Becky brings them closer than they ever expected, and Sam knows that no matter who wins in court, he could still lose—Kayla or his daughter.
Excerpt:
After a moment’s hesitation, Sam rose and moved to the door. He had to brace himself before he could step into the living room.
Everything looked familiar. The pair of plaid couches facing each other. The long pine coffee table between them. The chime clock ticking away on the mantel. Everything looked familiar, except the child sitting on one of the couches.
A beautiful little girl.
The daughter he’d always hoped for, the start of the family he’d never had.
He shook his head. Pipe dreams, for sure. His ex had never told a true story in her life. This child couldn’t be his.
She wore a blue T-shirt, white shorts, and denim sneakers. In her arms, she cradled a stuffed tiger. A couple of dolls rested on the couch alongside her.
As he moved another step into the room, she looked up.
Small and blonde, just as his mom had said. And more.
The girl’s eyes shone in the light from the table lamp beside the couch. Silver-gray eyes surrounded by dark lashes, a perfect match to his own.
His throat tightened. He felt frozen in place.
She gave him a shy smile.
He’d seen that half-twisted grin in plenty of his own childhood pictures. Not impossible after all. The child was his.
Somehow, after what seemed like hours, he managed to raise one hand to wave at her. “Hello.” The word came out in a croak. He hadn’t the first idea of what to say and went for the standard opening line. “What’s your name?”
His mom moved up to stand behind him and rested her hand on his arm. “Her name’s Becky,” she told him. “But she can’t hear you, Sam. She’s deaf.”
Find the book
Amazon http://bit.ly/Amazon-ARanchersPride-BarbaraWhiteDaille
B&N http://bit.ly/BN-ARanchersPride-BarbaraWhiteDaille
Harlequin http://bit.ly/Harlequin-ARanchersPride-BarbaraWhiteDaille
Books-A-Million http://bit.ly/BAM-ARanchersPride-BarbaraWhiteDaille
Kobo https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/a-rancher-s-pride
About Barbara
Barbara White Daille lives with her husband in the sunny Southwest. Though they love the warm winters and the lizards in their front yard, they haven’t gotten used to the scorpions in the bathroom. She also loves writing, reading, and chocolate. Stop by Barbara’s website, where you can find more info about her books, check out her blog, and sign up for her newsletter: https://www.barbarawhitedaille.com/newsletter. You can also find her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BarbaraWDaille.
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Barbara White Daille
2 years agoThanks so much for hosting me today!
Readers – I hope you enjoyed the peek at A Rancher’s Pride. I love all my heroes and heroines and secondary characters. And I have to add that these folks…well, they’re definitely close to my heart. 🙂
Will check back periodically if anyone wants to leave a comment or question.